Chapter 53

【On the evening of the 5th, a major safety accident occurred at the Bishuiwan Manor in Gubei Town, Taoyuan City, Qinzhou Prefecture. Preliminary police investigations suspect that due to improper operations by maintenance personnel, high-voltage power cables under the hotel leaked, resulting in 36 deaths, including hotel staff and guests. Next, please watch the on-site interview...】

In the center of the screen is the surging Tao River. A young man wearing a security guard uniform leans against the railing of a flower bed, his eyes somewhat dazed. The scrolling subtitles below are a brief description of the incident, and the white text on a blue background in the lower left is the identity of the person being interviewed:

Bishuiwan Manor security guard, Tian Chengyun.

He and Xie Yaoan are among the few survivors of the Bishuiwan Manor accident.

A hunched man wearing a short-sleeved vest with an orange-red waistcoat over it sits on a small stool at the entrance of a breakfast shop, slurping rice noodles while watching the news report on TV. He is just an unremarkable cleaner eating breakfast, with a drop of noodle soup on his faint stubble.

But sitting opposite this cleaner is a middle-aged man wearing casual clothes. His clean, tidy image and gentle temperament all indicate that he should have a decent identity.

For example, the absolute controlling shareholder of the New Homeland Real Estate Group.

Bai Fugui does not mind the noisy environment of the roadside shop and the not-so-good sanitary conditions. The customers coming and going are mostly students rushing to school. He likes young people with vitality, as they are somewhat tainted with the life atmosphere he lacks.

The news on the TV is still playing. The cleaner sitting opposite Bai Fugui listens with ears pricked while chewing rice noodles.

Tian Chengyun, who was interviewed by the TV station, appears somewhat constrained in the footage, and his speech is a bit stuttering, but generally, it remains consistent with the news report: maintenance personnel misoperated, causing cables to be exposed, and high-voltage electricity leaked, causing this tragedy with 36 deaths. Tian Chengyun himself happened to leave the manor to buy cigarettes in town, which is why he luckily escaped.

【When I returned to the manor, the tragedy had already occurred...】

Tian Chengyun ended his interview with this sentence.

The subsequent news content is nothing worth watching, repeating the same old clichés about electrical safety precautions and the thorough investigation into the manor's operation and management system. From beginning to end, the words 'ghost' or 'strange' never appeared; it was completely just an accident.

"Happy now? The person wasn't killed, Zhao You wasn't found, and Te Rang was folded in as well. In the end, I still have to clean up the mess." Bai Fugui lit a cigarette for himself but didn't smoke it, instead watching quietly as the milky smoke rose from his hand into the sky: "Lost the wife and the army."

The cleaner finished the rice noodles in the bowl, snatched the cigarette from Bai Fugui's hand, stuffed it into his own mouth, and took a fierce drag: "We underestimated him. Although we still don't know that person's identity, it's clearly not a coincidence that he could take away Zhao You."

"It's you, not us." Bai Fugui corrected: "Do you know how much money I spent to clean up after you? Not even counting the price I paid myself."

"Aren't you the one who does this?" the cleaner asked back.

Bai Fugui spread his hands: "Fine, you're right."

The cleaner laughed.

Bai Fugui crossed his legs and continued: "What do you say now? If I remember correctly, you've already sold Te Rang, and the reward has already been received. Now that Te Rang is gone, how are you going to explain it to the buyer?"

"Tell the truth, I crashed. The ghost he wanted is gone. What else can I explain?" The cleaner looked very indifferent.

"You know that's not what I'm asking." Bai Fugui shook his head: "Why do you think that buyer could accept you raising the price on the spot? Because he is dying; he needs Te Rang to extend his life, just like you need Zhao You."

"You got the reward, and then you lost his hope of living. Believe me, he will definitely fight you to the death." Bai Fugui added: "Just like you will fight the person who took away Zhao You to the death."

There are few things more terrifying than a 'gridder' who is determined to die.

"I know." The cleaner pressed the finished cigarette butt into a cola can and stood up from the small stool: "So you have to help me. If the buyer really intends to make a final struggle before dying, then he should go find the person who subdued Te Rang, not me."

Bai Fugui understood immediately what he was talking about: "Even so, you'd better be cautious. That buyer's ability is not simple; after all, it's a means that can fit 'Te Rang'... You know the scarcity of instant-death rules better than I do." "Of course, I know better than you, know much more." After saying this, the cleaner picked up the broom leaning against the wall and left the breakfast shop.

Leaving Bai Fugui to pay the bill for him.

"Hello, five yuan." The landlady of the breakfast shop walked over while wiping her hands.

Bai Fugui paid the money and left the breakfast shop, strolling on the sparsely populated street. There are few young people in Gubei Town; most of the men and women in their twenties have gone out to work. In the peaceful small town, there are only twilight-aged old people and childish children, quiet as always.

As always.

"..."

The bizarre scenes faded away like a tide, as if he had had a very long dream. Ning Zhe's consciousness awakened from a hazy chaos. Opening his eyes, he saw soft sunlight passing through the blinds, gently sprinkling on the desk.

He was covered with a thin summer quilt; it seems he had been lying on the bed for a long time.

Ning Zhe turned his head. A quiet girl sat at the desk by the bed, her ink-like long hair draped over her snow-like shoulders. She supported her chin with one hand, her legs neatly together, her sitting posture upright and reserved. Her fair fingers gently flipped through the beige paper, making a rustling sound.

She was reading very seriously, not even noticing that the person on the bed had already woken up.

Ning Zhe reached out to the desktop and knocked, making two crisp 'thud' sounds.

"Stealing a look at other people's private items is not right," Ning Zhe said.

Bai Zhi was startled, and pale red clouds immediately flew onto her cheeks. She hurriedly stacked the letter papers scattered on the table in order, pressed her hands on her knees, and sat nervously and reservedly. A voice so faint it could barely be heard drifted from between her lips: "I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have looked at your things."

"Mm?" Looking at Bai Zhi's nervous appearance, Ning Zhe was somewhat puzzled.

The Bai Zhi he saw in Bishuiwan Manor earlier didn't seem like this; she was more frank and calm then, not as jumpy as she is now.

"It's okay, because I also looked at your diary without permission, so now we're even," Ning Zhe said, lifting the thin quilt covering him and sitting up from the bed: "By the way, what time is it now, and why are you at my house?"

Ning Zhe did not wake up anywhere else, but in his room in his old family home, so those letter papers in the drawer were his private items.

Bai Zhi lifted her sleeve to check her watch and said: "It's 5:12 PM... June 6th. You slept for almost the entire day. Mom asked me to watch over you here; if you wake up, go call her."

"Then it seems Auntie sent me home. It's really a credit to her that she could find where my house is."

Ning Zhe lowered his head and looked around the bed, not seeing his shoes. Just as he was about to speak and ask, he saw Bai Zhi hurriedly stand up from the desk and bring his shoes over from the sun-drenched windowsill.

"There is blood on your shoes, and your trousers and clothes too; Mom washed them for you," Bai Zhi said softly.

Ning Zhe thought for a moment; it might be the blood he got on himself when beating up the security captain Old Li last night. He hadn't paid much attention to it himself, not expecting Feng Yushu to have handled it for him.

"How is the Bishuiwan Manor matter? What about that ghost? Did your mom tell you?" Ning Zhe asked while putting on his shoes.

"What ghost?" Bai Zhi blinked, not quite understanding what he was talking about.

(End of chapter)